The kanji 塩 represents "salt." It encompasses the concept of a white, crystalline substance used to season food, preserve it, and for various other purposes. The core meaning focuses on the chemical compound sodium chloride (NaCl).

・On-yomi (音読み): エン (en) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): しお (shio)

⚫︎塩ラーメン Translation: Salt ramen (a type of ramen seasoned with salt) ⚫︎食塩 Translation: Table salt (literally "edible salt") ⚫︎塩辛い Translation: Salty

The kanji 塩 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The left side is the radical 土 (tsuchi), meaning "earth" or "ground", which indicates the origin, where salt is found. The right side 㕣is the phonetic component, which originally depicted a valley and later acquired the phonetic value エン(en). The character's formation thus combines the meaning of the earth with a sound component, creating the whole kanji 塩 meaning "salt."